04 
4 Washington/ which we still enjoy. 44 Our people wanted to 
call it Columbia. No other designation was suggested, and it is 
a singular coincidence that the names of the two American ves¬ 
sels which first plowed those waters should have been the only 
names deemed as appropriate for the new territory.” — Evans. 
President Pierce entrusted the execution of the organization 
to Major 1.1. Stevens, our first governor. This officer gradu¬ 
ated at West Point with high prestige ; in the Mexican war he 
won and received commendable appreciation from the command¬ 
ing general; he devoted his active energies to our young terri¬ 
tory and set the paraphernalia of government in successful ope¬ 
ration ; he afterwards represented our territory for two sessions 
in Congress. In the war of the rebellion he commanded a 
brigade in the Union army, and on the deadly field of Chantilly, 
Virginia, in August, 1862, he fell, much to the regret of our 
early pioneers, among whom his memory is held in pleasant re¬ 
membrance. The legislature has organized our territory, and 
divided it into counties and judicial districts ; life and property 
are protected and the laws are humanely executed and generally 
obeyed. 
Towns and Cities. Our hardy pioneers, having reclaimed 
this domain from the savages, and having great faith in its fu¬ 
ture destiny as the prospective gate to the Indies, have laid out 
and are building up towns and cities on the margin of the Sound, 
which bask in the sunshine of steady, healthy progress. We 
present the claims of several to the favorable attention of our 
readers, in the earnest hope that many will be induced to locate 
in our embryo cities. 
Port Townsend is situated at the junction of the Strait De 
Fuca and Admiralty Inlet. The present business part of the 
town is built on a low beach, immediately adjoining which is an 
abrupt bluff; upon this elevation is found the residences of the 
citizens, the marine hospital, churches, school-houses, etc. ^The 
custom-house for the Puget Sound district is located upon the 
beach below, hence all foreign shipping is compelled to enter 
and clear at this place. 
Seattle is located on Elliot bay, on the eastern shore of Ad¬ 
miralty Inlet, near the mouth of the Dwamish river. A fertile 
tract of farming lands is convenient to this place which is 
rapidly filling up. The coal mines in the vicinity, and the nu¬ 
merous lumbering mills and logging camps adjacent, contribute 
